Background: During digital reading on internet-connected devices, students may be exposed to a variety of on-screen distractions. Learning by reading can therefore become a fragmented experience with potentially negative consequences for reading processes and outcomes. Objectives: This study investigated the effects of on-screen distractions, as…

Both generative learning tasks and retrieval practice tasks can serve as a beneficial follow-up to an initial study phase in which learners have studied new learning material. However, research that compares the effects of these 2 types of learning tasks is scarce. Therefore, it is widely unknown whether, and if so under which conditions, the one…

In 2 experiments, college students read a 4-paragraph text on how the human circulatory system works and were instructed to form a mental image of the events described in each paragraph from the perspective of their own body (first-person perspective group) or from the perspective of a fictitious person facing them (third-person perspective…

Reading academic hypertext documents in college brings a new level of complexity that changes the definition of college reading and literacy. Knowing how to read these unpredictable, nonlinear texts requires familiarity and practice. The author describes the nature and usefulness of hypertext, reviews the challenges of reading hypertext, and…

Previous research has shown that encouraging learners to explain material to themselves as they study can increase their understanding. Furthermore, different types of material (e.g. text or diagrams) influence learners' self-explanation behaviour. This study explores whether the coherence of text impacts upon the self-explanation effect.…

A study investigated the effects of text processing orientations and reader-generated versus text-based comprehension aids on readers' comprehension of expository text. The processing orientations included memory-oriented processing, organization-oriented processing, understanding-oriented processing, and a read and study control. Subjects, 136…

Examined whether activating conditional knowledge about appropriate strategies for studying a text would enhance self-efficacy and comprehension monitoring in college students. Found that subjects in the activation condition outperformed those in the control condition on reading comprehension monitoring and on comprehension performance but not on…

By having students use their knowledge of real-world cultural contexts to construct text-world contexts, teachers help them understand how cultural forces within those contexts shape characters' actions. This paper describes the process of linking real- and text-world contexts, offering examples from one college class. Implications for helping…